Delhi Police Bust Fake Government Recruitment Racket, Arrest Two

With the arrest of two individuals, Delhi Police on Monday announced the busting of a fake government recruitment racket. The accused allegedly duped job seekers by directing them to register on fraudulent websites that displayed photos of ministers and senior government officials.

The main accused, Rashid Choudhury, reportedly ran the scam under the guise of an organisation named ‘National Rural Development and Recreation Mission (NRDRM)’, falsely presenting it as a government body under the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), officials said. Choudhury and his accomplice, 27-year-old Ikbal Hussain, were arrested on Sunday.

The scam came to light after the MoRD filed a police complaint in March, stating that two websites using the NRDRM name were posting fake recruitment ads and claiming affiliation with the ministry. The sites reportedly charged victims registration fees for fake recruitment processes, police said.

“The fraud involved collecting registration fees ranging from Rs 299 to Rs 399 from applicants,” said DCP (New Delhi) Devesh Mahla.

Following an FIR, police traced a QR code linked to the fake websites to a bank account in Assam. The money transferred to this account was then split into multiple accounts or withdrawn through ATM transactions.

“More than a hundred CCTV footages of ATM cash withdrawals were collected from various banks and analyzed. Technical surveillance helped trace suspect Ikbal Hussain to a rented flat in Shakarpur, Laxmi Nagar,” Mahla added.

Police raided Hussain’s residence and arrested him. Hussain revealed that he withdrew the cash and handed it over to the mastermind, Rashid Choudhury. A subsequent raid at Choudhury’s home led to his arrest.

Initially uncooperative, Choudhury later admitted to operating a sophisticated racket involving fake online recruitment ads. “He is a habitual cybercriminal,” the DCP said.

Police revealed that Choudhury had assembled a team including web developers to create fake websites, operatives to manage advertisements, and others to procure bank accounts and SIM cards. The devices and accounts seized have been forwarded to the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) for cross-verification with similar cases nationwide.

Hussain and Choudhury have been charged under sections 318(4) (cheating) and 319(2) (cheating by personation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.